Deeside Source to Sea - an attempt to follow the River Dee from it's source to where it meets the sea, under our own steam.

The
team met at the Braemar chippy on Friday night to stock up with
calories for the next 24 hours. Whilst waiting for his meal Dom whipped
out his stove to prepare a second dish! After dropping off the kayaks at
Invercauld Dom and Amy joined the rest of the team to walk (and in
Iain's case, attempt to cycle) from Linn of Dee via Derry Lodge to our
camp site near Corrour bothy. A beautiful evening, it was warm and light
enough to walk without torches right to camp at 11.30pm. Straight to
bed, no time to drink the 'crate' of beer that Bruce had heaved up the
hill, for the expedition required an early start.

Up before 6am,
too early to eat breakfast, and in Iain's case no fuel for his stove ;-)
We all set off travelling as light as possible up the Lairig for the
stiff climb up the UK's second highest peak. Fantastic views and great
to be on the summit so early, although the sun was already quite high in
the sky. After a group photo the runners set off - no time to dawdle if
we were to get to Aberdeen for a beach bbq. First stop though, the
Wells of Dee, some magical springs on the high plateau where the river
begins its journey. Rather than follow the river directly over the
cliffs we ran between the four Munro summits, over Angel's Peak, Cairn
Toul and the Devil's Point, which amazingly took less than 2 hours. The
latter summit had the most incredible view of the Dee stretching ahead
of us. A quick descent back to camp where we picked up our sleeping bags
and started the run alongside the Dee back to the Linn. Thanks to the
walkers in the team for carrying leftover tents!

Having only
eaten a cheese roll for the last 35km I was starving at this point so I
took some time to have lunch while Dom and Amy set off on their bikes.
Iain and I then set off together to meet them at Invercauld as they were
preparing to get into the kayaks. All was looking good so we continued
to Balmoral where we would pick them up. Unfortunately by that time the
most intense storm I've ever experienced was rolling in. Incredible
lightning displays were followed immediately by huge thunderclaps. The
storm was all around us! However we set off on the bikes for Aberdeen as
the rain seemed to come and go. By the time we got to Aboyne the rain
was most definitely more come than go and the lightning was hitting the
ground around us. Calling it a day we retired to the local Indian where
we were able to celebrate Amy's birthday in some style (and Dom nipped
out to cook a second meal whilst waiting ;-)).

Deciding to take a break from having a camping meet for midsummer the club headed north instead to the land of late sunsets for a June meet to Elphin. The long drive from Dundee did mean the last party did still manage to arrive after sunset.

There had been some discussion of caving before going but a reasonable forecast saw everyone head to the hills on Saturday. Suilven proved the most popular hill, but the author headed to the three Corbetts of Quinag with 4 others. With Pete having only managed to climb the first one due to wind at the last DMC meet to Elphin we headed up the central peak first. Reaching the summit, we were glad of our hill choice as hills further south and west all seemed cloud covered (including Suilven). We continued along a spectacular ridge to the furthest away peak a handy lunch spot. Returning back to the car via the Southern summit for four of us we nearly but not quite managed to avoid the rain which soon stopped once we reached the shelter of the car.

Returning to the hut the sun soon returned with most of us sunning ourselves in the conservatory. Drawn back out by the sun me and Amy went for a quick swim (in wetsuits) first in Loch Borralan which proved too shallow then in Cam Loch which proved to be a better option if rather cold. Eventually the others returned from various adventures in the mist and an excellent tea with cheesecake was had by all.

Sunday saw some caving adventures. This started with much kit faff working out what kit we had for people with some (me) not doing the crucial try on to check it fits step. After getting sorted a short drive saw more faff followed by an awkward walk in too many clothes to get to the start of the cave. Being glad to not have to walk any further in wellies distracted us from the fact that Andrew had stopped us near a rather small dark hole in the ground. One by one we descended through the narrow hole. I was personally relieved by the large number of handholds meaning we would hopefully be able to easily climb back out the hole we had slithered down, but first some exploring to do.

This started with a series of short trips away from a large central chamber slowly getting us used to different bits of caving. The drier weather meant that previous warnings about caving being cold and wet were not true and I was rather too warm in my winter kayaking thermals. The final challenge of the first half of the cave exploration was a short wire ladder down to a river where we could see the line madder people than us had used for their cave diving. A rather stiff rope provided some difficulties when being used for safety but everyone managed to safely navigate the ladder. Fired up no one at this point announced they wanted to turn back before the second half of the cave system with a warning of a narrow entry passage. Reality however soon hit and after some wavering only 5 of the original 7 managed to make it through the others resolved to wait for us to return. After slithering through a narrow gap the cave did slowly get wider and a few awkward scrambles presented themselves. The lore of a waterfall drew us on but one traverse reduced our numbers to 4 (someone decided to wait no one fell). The knowledge of a narrow slither out meant I never quite relaxed in this second cave and so was quite glad to be turning back when we reached the end. A slightly different route was taken to return and thankfully Villo had not been kidnapped by goblins so we were able to return safely to the others and the wonderful daylight and air on the surface. Caving was interesting but there are probably many other things higher on the list of hobbies to do above it…

Returning to the car and showers of the hut was easier as a downhill walk out and the long drive home beckoned…

- Report by Dominic

Sunday was the day I was waiting for a long time, I never went to any caves and always was wanting to do it. Finally we had a chance as Andrew was so keen to take us down under the earth.

Little hole and we are in. Was so quiet up there and water running sound was so different that ever heard. Bit scary, to crawling few metres with almost no space to move the feet felt so great when you end up in different chamber and than couple of traverses above few metres drops.... Hmmm. So exciting! After we have been back I am more for caving again soon I hope one day I find a prehistoric bones or a diamonds. Wish me luck!

- Report by Sylwia

A few midges....A few showers.....A few beers....A little sun burn....A portion of lentil curry....A little gas...!A stroll in the hills...

The
trip to Skye always generates extra excitement and so Friday was duly
exchanged for Bank Holiday Monday, and six of us managed - after about
300 emails - to coordinate two cars to travel up on Thursday eve. Anton
offered to drive and like me has a Skoda with many miles under its belt,
however when he suggested we could fit 5 plus bikes I was a bit
sceptical…. I duly arrived to witness roofbox being loaded with goodies,
including food for the Sat night, and bike rack – no problems! A quick
diversion to get Sylwia with a second bike, then north, Anton being
mainly concerned the bikes were secure, whereas I was wondering if any
unplanned heavy braking would result in 5kg of Gulasch cascading down
the windscreen, not to mention the fate of the Apple Strudel balancing
on the back seat… Needn’t have worried however, and the food on Sat
night was superb!!

Arriving Sligachan campsite just before midnight
exposed the ‘hard’ truth of what had been forgotten this time, in my
case a Thermarest, substituted instead by an uncoiled 60m rope and a
borrowed blanket. At least I remembered a sleeping bag and a tent…

Friday
saw 10 of us head off up Coire na Banachdich, conscious that some were
making their first visit to the Cuillin, and we’d just had a very cold
week with lots of fresh snow further east. A showery day full of
‘atmosphere’, some of the atmosphere consisting of hail and snow, it
didn’t last, but added a bit of extra spice, when you can’t quite trust
the gabbro 100%. Everyone made the top of Sg na Banachdich, a real
achievement given the conditions, and 8 of us managed to press on to An
Dorus via Sg a Ghreadaidh, a fleeting Broken Spectre one of the
highlights. Simon & Phelim had other ideas, exploring/getting lost
in the dripping recesses of Sron na Ciche – didn’t we do this last year
as well?? Some cracking photos though.

The now traditional DMC
weather arrived for Sat along with the Friday nighters (i.e clear and
sunny - whoever arranges this every year deserves a medal), and we had
several people on the Inn Pinn, Ghreadaidh, Banachdich, a visit to
Raasay, and a group of 7 aiming for the northern 3 Cuillin Munro’s,
Bruach na Frithe by the NW ridge, Am Bhasteir including the ‘bad step’,
and the West ridge of Gillean. The summit of Am Bhasteir is one of those
places where the exposure is absolute and has a great feeling of
‘space’. You can understand (if briefly) the attraction of Base Jumping
with a Squirrel Suit…. casual Google search reveals:-“squirrel.ws” –
base jumping equipment, www.wingsuitfly.com – how to start Wingsuit
flying!, closely followed by “wingsuit / ebay.com”, then “Wikipedia:
list of fatalities due to Wingsuit flying….”Staying firmly on the
ground we pushed on up Gillean, roping up for the tricky bit and
revelling in the fantastic situations. It’s a long way down the (very
much tongue in cheek) “Tourist route” to the pub however (quicker with a
squirrel suit ).

Sun saw a whole heap of different things
accomplished, running the Trotternish ridge (Dom&Amy and Lu),
running some of the Skye trail down to Portree (Andrew, Berenice, Villo
and Simon), Cycling down to Talisker Bay and round to Glen Brittle (all
from Sligachan) Anton and Sylwia, plenty of folk headed off to do
Blaven, and I, well I resorted to the Red Cuillin, there being a Graham
and Corbett as yet unclimbed. Worth it for the experience, great views
but the descent off Glamaig is an unrelenting 600m 40deg nightmare of
loose scree and grass…. and they run up and down here every year…? The
record I believe is 44mins – by one Finlay Wild, he of Cuillin ridge in
2h59m22s fame, not only that, he took 32 mins to get up, and 12 MINS to
get down…!!! The only comparable thing which springs to mind is the
carnage unleashed by the annual Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire..
maybe that’s why these Cuillin are red…

And now for the latest installment in the DMC adventure series…. “18 go to Knoydart Island”

OK,
not an island exactly but a superbly remote area, part of “The Rough
Bounds” which means uncompromising (unshaven?) terrain, and makes for
long ‘km’ and big ‘metres’…. as we were to find out. Sgurr Coire
Choinnichean is the sharp peak which looms above Inverie on the approach
on the Ferry from Mallaig (and featured in Greg’s Mountain Mind Quiz a
few weeks ago) – and is a good indication of what to expect, a sea level
start, brutally steep, bit rocky and with fine ridges. This was the
‘plan’ for Saturday, start here, follow the long ridge beyond eventually
leading to Ladhar Bheinn, then pick our way down to the north and
circling back to Beinn na Caillich before a long walk out and back to
the Bunkhouse. We soon learned that those who arrived for a full day on
Friday had taken 10 to 11 hours to do Ladhar Bheinn (Konrad, Maddy and
Stef) and Luinne Bheinn plus Meall Dearg (Berenice and Andrew).. maybe
we were being a little optimistic??

All assembled on the Friday
eve, some sampled the Old Forge seafood menu and real ales (locally
brewed – yes even Knoydart now has its own micro-brewery.. “Remoteness”
3.8% abv – and not a bad pint…), others worked out how to share a single
‘3 working hob’ cooker in the bunkhouse (with beds for 24), and some
(one?) who’ll remain nameless resorted to Pot Noodle at the campsite…

Saturday
brought terrific clear conditions and loads of contenders for the next
DMC Photo comp but pictures belied the true conditions with a fierce
easterly wind and bitter wind chill. 4 seasons in 20 minutes, gloves on,
gloves off, suncream on, sunhat off, shades on, down jacket on….
Dom&Amy and I pursued our mad round, and set about gently pushing
back our target time for each summit, so 1pm leaving the top of Ladhar
Bheinn became 2.15, and 5.20pm for the top of Beinn na Caillich.. with a
mere 9km back to base. Whisker under 12 hours all in and a memorable
day, especially the icicles and verglas encountered descending the north
side of Ladhar Bheinn… Everyone made a Munro or Corbett - Ladhar
Bheinn, Luinne Bheinn and Meall Bhuidhe all featured and we even came up
with the new activity of wild paddling, the loch in question being too
shallow for wild swimming..

A storming evening meal courtesy of
Berenice, Andrew and Maddy, replenished tired bodies, and a combination
of alcohol, Munro Top Trumps and Dobble frustrated tired minds, and set
us up for Sunday’s adventures. Undeterred by even colder, windier
conditions, Sandy and I traversed the length of Beinn Bhuidhe, whilst
Dom&Amy took in Meall Bhuidhe. Some of the others opted for low
level runs, and some cragging back on the ‘mainland’. Phelim, Katrina
and Sandy stayed on for the Monday – has anyone heard from them since??

Sad to leave, another fantastic weekend and can’t wait for the next Chapter…

Nice one Iain for writing the report.... Just to confirm, Phelim bivvied out on the beach Sunday night and left on the Monday morning ferry. Whilst Katrina
and I set off for Our Mary, (lady of the sea) on the hillside before
returning home to Dundee about 9pm. Ready for a new week after a very
fine weekend!

Teamed up with Suzanne on Sunday to do Meall Dearg, a Graham north of
Amulree. We timed things for an afternoon start to allow a front through
but got hammered by the wind for most of the 19km circuit achieved.
Weather and wildlife marked the outing with some horizontal hail, warm
sunshine and a little snow; geese, mountain hares and a deer hassling
sheep! A satisfying half-day.

One of the most beautiful locations in Scotland – Glen Coe! I was looking forward to the meet, leaving Dundee on Friday afternoon with Suzanne and Paulina, sun was shinning and it was looking pretty good...

Rainy, grey Saturday morning... more than slightly disappointing but what can you do!! Berenice, Steph, Simon, Dom, Iain and I headed off and made a few good hours out of it, after a 'rainy & snowy walk', and exploring the loch, part of the group (Steph, Berenice, Simon and I) ended up with an unexpected afternoon shopping trip to Fort William. Some other afternoon plans involved climbing at the Ice Factor (Paul and Sandy), skiing (Suzanne, Paulina and Sandy), watching Six Nations Rugby 2019 at the local pub, and the new people checking out DMC club went for a run...

It was Chimed’s last meet before leaving Scotland, sad to see him go... all the best with new adventures and I am sure many great memories and stories of DMC and Scottish Munros will be taken away.

We celebrated this weekend with a 3 course Dutch communal meal, which was fun and an experimental task to prepare dinner for a group of 20 people following the recipes for the first time. Finished off with delicious Bailey's and Maple syrup cheesecakes (17th March is St. Patrick's day) made by Chimed.

Tim, who came to DMC meet for the first time, happened to have a bottle of Dutch Gin, this was a perfect occasion for the Dutch Gin bottle to come out of the storage cupboard after being there for around 20 years.

Sunday turned out to be sunny and clear, Glen Coe Mountain Resort was packed with skiers, snowboarders and people who came to enjoy the views, a very beautiful day. Other groups went Munro bagging.

Regardless of the circumstances DMC always manages to find ways to have fun and make the most out of the day. New people are very welcome and for those whose time have come to a change will be missed.

- report by Ilze

March meet to Glencoe saw a contrast between the different days. Quite a lot of snow falling in the lead up to the meet had made some excited for skiing and others worrying about avalanche conditions on the hills. Saturday was forecast to deteriorate so those aiming for the hills were up early 6 people set off for Sgurr Elide Mor with the rain in the car park soon turning to snow as height was gained. A decision by 4 of the 6 was made that Loch Elide Mor was a suitable alternative target for the day given weather conditions. The others carried on up and discovering the weather didn’t deteriorate higher up pressed on for the summit. Crampons being left in the car and ice under the snow on higher slopes further reduced the party so Iain summited alone. Returning to the hut early afternoon we found the other group heading for Munros had been no more successful turning back on school house ridge cutting short a planned circuit of Ballachulish horseshoe.

A trip to the Clachaig soon ensured to console the disappointed walkers and was everyone up again. The evening saw a fantastic three course meal served to mark Chimed’s final meet before he runs away to the Netherlands (he will be back to visit I am sure).

Sunday the forecast was for a better day so Berenice’s proposed walk to Beinn nan Aighenan proved a popular choice with 8 heading up there. Thankfully the cloud was higher today so the way up to the col was visible from the road and looked like the route up the valley was the best option and not subject to bad avalanche risk. My early dreams of bagging extra Munros on the return journey slowly faded long trek up the valley reached the snow line and progress slowed. After nearly 3 hours of walking we finally caught sight of our destination summit and had a celebratory lunch stop. As always seeing the top is not the same as climbing it and it took a while longer before we reached the final summit. This day I took my crampons (having decided I would be sad if I didn’t make this summit) but with only a very short icy section on the top didn’t put them on. Descent saw good use be made of a snow filled gully to quickly lose height the snow was poorly bonded together, so the predicted considerable avalanche forecast was probably correct. We got down with no issues and eventually returned to the cars after 6pm quite late for a Sunday to start a drive back to Dundee.

Another great weekend with a great bunch of people.

- report by Dom

Wow!, a great selection of reports already in, and as the recent inaugural winner of the DMC Scribe award I feel like I need to sharpen my pencil!

Winter was back with a bang and the wind changed suddenly to the east on Saturday with heavy snow which produced pretty widespread windslab and considerable avalanche risk, so managing to get to a summit was an unexpected bonus. The amount of snow above 700m was quite a surprise, and the original plot with Simon to tackle the Aonach Eagach on Sunday was quietly dropped, the idea of trail breaking along a sharp edged ridge with fresh windslab everywhere didn’t appeal... instead we opted for the Mamores, Sgurr a Mhaim and round to Stob Ban with the added excitement of the Devils Ridge, which ended up trail breaking along a sharp edged ridge with fresh windslab everywhere....

For those who know, in summer this is an exhilarating knife edge but mainly a walk with a couple of scrambling steps. Having done it before in winter in my formative years I was quite confident it would be a fun day out and a fitting adventure to cap Chimed’s time with the DMC. Just as well we couldn’t see the ridge from the top of Sgurr a Mhaim... we negotiated the first narrow section and the little step around the pinnacles where you drop a few feet off the ridge in an exposed position and I then headed up to a curious bulge of snow on the ridge crest. Breaking through this my heart sank - what should have been a straightforward path on the crest of the ridge - and maybe a cornice on one side, had been transformed by the variable winds into a Mr Whippy sculpture of teetering soft snow, spectacular but unnerving. Plan B was to traverse along the west side below the crest - firm snow but a really exposed steep slope and not on the original itinerary - some 'on the job training' for Chimed. Safely negotiated and surfing on adrenalin we regrouped on the broad col beyond. Master of understatement - 'I was a little bit out of my comfort zone' no S**t!

Such things are memories made of...

- report by Iain

The popularity of a Glen Coe venue meant we spilled out of the Alpine Bunkhouse to take some space in the main building where the cosy fire was enjoyed by many of us. Saturday was dreich and a bit blowy at times with only 2 folk managing hill summits mainly due to the snow conditions. The skiers had limited visibility and later took refuge in the new Kingshouse.

Others ended up in the Clachaig Inn & The Ice Factor. On Saturday evening we celebrated Chimed's last meet with us with a hearty dutch meal of Soup, Wurst, Sauerkraut with lashings of Potato and Chimed's home-made Cheesecake (somewhat later!). The evening concluded with several group games played. On Sunday the weather gradually improved and we were blessed with blue skies and views. The skiers returned to see where they had been the day before and Berenice took a party to Beinn nan Aighenan. Chimed got his Munro tally to 50 via Sgurr a'Mhaim, the Devil's ridge to Sgurr Ban with Iain & Simon. Comrie chipper & Tyndrum Real Food Cafe were utilised on the way home - yum.

Actually what was left of winter was
running off the hills, but undeterred, three groups set off on Saturday
heading for Beinn Narnain and Ben Ime (Berenice, Ilze, Paulina and
Sandy), Beinn Chabhair (and onwards on the Steve Fallon round...?) for
Dom, Amy, Konrad and Andrew H, Barry & Bob headed up Ben More for an
early finish, leaving myself, Chimed and Anton to head for Ben's Lui,
Oss and Dubhcraig - the long walk in past Cononish and up the NE Coire,
which was the only place with any appreciable snow. Luckily it was quite
sheltered until we pulled over the top, the snow ended, and we were
blasted by the wind which quickly reminded you that windchill still
bites even if the temp is well above freezing!

It was on
stepping round the back of summit cairn that I discovered Ben, slightly
distressed but still able to explain that he had been there for 5 days
and was looking for someone to take him onto some more Munro's. He was
quite well equipped and in a dry bag but we agreed we would make sure he
got back safely.

Now at this point i should point out that Ben
is a travelling (teddy) bear, has done 57 Munro's to date and been on
lots of adventures going by his Facebook page!

He was duly fed
and watered back at the hut and taken up Ben More by Chimed and Andrew
the following day, in truly atrocious conditions... Other hills were also
done however, Berenice to Beinn Mhanach (bagging...), Me, Sandy, Konrad
and Anton for Beinn Mhic Mhonaidh (bagging...), Dom and Amy for a run and
an MRT 'assist', Ilze and Paulina off on the bikes.

So despite
being close to home, plenty of good hills to go for and enough
collective enthusiasm to get up them even when it's mingin' outside...

... and on a night-time adventure off we go ... secret location, dark - without moon light, high chances of rain or minus degrees with ice, you never know what you will get with Scottish weather....

After being lost in couple of turns, our Team 3 (Paulina, Bruce C and I) have managed to find all 4 treasure points and took a second place at the final destination, reaching Summit within estimated time. We were following clues that included general directions, cardinal directions with precise metre directions and map reading skills. Finding little treasure treats, such as love heart sweets, oatcakes, raisins and Christmas chocolates has kept our spirits up. Have to say that despite all the fun on the way, seeing distant torch lights up at the summit was like a victory for our team work – Number 3.

During this event, I came across several realisations:

That an electrician skill of step- metre measurement comes quite handy and are quite frankly accurate

No matter how many compasses you might have, sometimes a compass tends to mislead and show several different points of NORTH

To find some of the treasures you must look harder and got to trust common sense that you are at the right spot

That a Kissing Gate exists: “small gate hung in a U- or V-shaped enclosure, letting one person through at a time”, “the first person to pass through would have to close the gate to the next person, providing an opportune moment to demand a kiss in return for entry”.

Bonding with teammates and having a laugh is an essential

Long legs get you moving faster

Quite a few people would love to brush up on their navigation skills

This was the second year when Amy and Dom have organised amazing DMC Treasure hunt, brilliant idea to get people lost in the woods and hills 😉 Looking forward for the next one – 2020!

Those of us who work during the week have to put up with "weekend
weather" and we all know what that means. So far this year it means
cloudless blue skies, crisp clear air, incredible views in all
directions and a beautiful covering of snow. Today's walk was no
exception. A stiff climb out of the forest up to the first summit with
views down a frozen Glen Lyon. The breeze was slight but the wind-chill
was very significant so not too much hanging around. Easy walking
conditions despite the full snow cover, no need for crampons or snow
shoes, so good progress made around the circuit. Words wouldn't do it
justice so check out the photo album! To top it all off, we beat Barry's
time ;-)

Perfect 10/10. We've all had those days where the weather has been
great, or the route has been exciting, or the craic was fun, but it's
rare for everything to come together so perfectly as it did this
weekend. The hut is nice and in a great location, it was a great bunch
of people to be with, and the rest you can tell from the photos :-) Yes,
a perfect meet.

Last time i went walking here was back in 1991 - a school trip no less, which took in Ben More and Dun da Ghaoithe, the resident Munro and Corbett on the Island. I've since expanded my horizons to Grahams and the odd (some of them very odd) Marylin, Mull is chock full of these and has some impressively rough and rocky ground, almost obligatory sea-level starts and big drops between them... big little hills indeed.

Sun 30th was a bit dreich but Miguel and I took our chances on Creach Bheinn from KinlochSpelve, and succeeded without getting completely soaked and/or blown over. The complete lack of photos from this hill tells it's own story. We had a wander afterwards along the beach at Loch Buie - really interesting Church / Chapel of St Kilda, and Moy Castle, sadly locked but undergoing restoration.

Mon 31st did not exactly dawn clear and dry, but buoyed by the success of the day before and making a judgement the forecast was only 'slightly' worse, Miguel and I decided to head for another Graham. In the end we only got to around 600m on Ben Buie before driving rain and nearly being flattened by the ferocious gusts of wind saw us retreat and take the scenic route to Balamory (Tobermory), to see what Miss Hoolie had been up to. OK so Andy did once teach on the Island but am reliably told it was at the high school and probably long before Balamory was created. The others had - perhaps more sensibly - wandered round to Rubh nan Gall lighthouse and taken up residence in the Tobermory Chocolate Cafe.

1st Jan - Today it did dawn (or probably did as i missed sunrise by some margin) clear, dry and bright, and so plans were put into action, Richard and Allan for the Corbett, Niall for a 217km tour of the island by bike (he left before sunrise..), Andy for a leisurely Graham, and Miguel, Simon and I for the same Graham but with ambitions of making it to Ben More. This we eventually did, via A Chioch, summitting at about 15:25, after lighting the afterburners from the col at 332m. Luckily Ben More has one of the quickest and easiest descents to the south, little over an hour to the road, and no headtorches needed!... Thank the 10 mins later sunset compared to Dundee and a bit of west-coast 'gloamin.' About 1500m of ascent overall and only 5 hrs on the hill.. Quote of the day - "all the Munro's I've done this year have been in great conditions...!"

Wed 2nd - sneaked a further quick Graham - Beinn Talaidh well under 2hrs up and down, whilst Simon and Miguel managed some climbing (!) at a nearby sport crag on the coast. This despite the morning frost which had left the beach at Loch Spelve draped in a carpet of ice.

So Mull comes highly recommended, still got a few little hills to do...

My first visit to the 'legendary' Glencoe Ski Club Hut, nestled in the
forest near Bridge of Orchy. Santa made an appearance last year but
would he show in 2018?? Judging by the distinct lack of the white stuff
there were no guarantees.

We were warned about the 10p's needed for
the showers, so i had been carefully stockpiling all week, only to
forget them when we left on Friday. Enough food and drink however for
another enjoyable weekend even if the weather didn't comply.

Sat
seemed reasonable enough and a large group including Greg, Dave M,
Katrina, Dom, Chimed, Dave B, Caitlin, Andrew H, Konrad and myself
headed off from Achallater heading for the distant Beinn a Chreachain
via Middle Earth, involving wild river crossings, and negotiating the
treacherous Crannach Wood, by which point any semblance of a good path
had vanished and we all disappeared into the trees only to re-emerge at
different points on the hillside above. It was a bit wild on the summit
and despite lots of people checking their maps, we managed to start
descending the SE rather than the SW ridge of the hill... Soon
re-orientated we pressed on taking in Beinn Achaladair in the fading
light, and just managed to get to easier ground in the Coire below
before the headtorches came out. A fine meal followed, and we learned of
Andy's morning escape from the hut having found himself locked in, and
Pete, Roos, Jo and Carol climbed the Corbett down the glen - Beinn Mhic
Mhonaidh.

Sunday promised to be a much brighter affair and i went
with a group of four - Dave M, Dave's mate Ben, and Chimed to repeat
Stob Coire Odhair and Stob Gabhar, with just enough snow and ice to make
it interesting and see the ice axes make a first appearance of the
year. The situations and views on this circuit never disappoint, a grand
day out!

DMC headed south to the forests near Dumfries for a weekend of mountain
biking. We were based in the bunkhouse deep inside Mabie forest but
first we explored the Dalbeattie forest trails. Meeting old friends Dan
and Diana was great and they know the area well. We split into several
groups and covered as many trails as possible, from green through to
black. Compared to some other trail centres we found the grading to be
accurate but the density of technical sections much higher. It was great
fun tackling the blues and reds, and watching the braver members on the
crazy black bits. We comfortably exceeded the guide-book time of 1.5
hours for one of the red routes, some of us making it last most of the
day! The scenery was fantastic with sunlight streaming through a varied
mix of trees, and beautiful views from the hill tops. We stayed out
until dusk, heading back up the hill to get a view of the setting sun.
Definitely a recommended destination for MTB. We headed back to Mabie
for a great meal (thanks Berenice and helpers) and a sociable evening
around the log fire. On Sunday we stayed more local, hitting the trails
in Mabie and the local hill Criffel.

It was great to be back at the home of the Yorkshire Ramblers after
nearly 4 years. The drive in was as challenging as ever with a
noticeable deterioration in the track after the ford area. The open fire
adds a distinct charm to the place and we were grateful of Sergey's
wood donation on the Saturday night. The weather was as poor on Saturday
as last time with persistent drizzle and precious little view. The main
party were able to find the top of Weatherlam and most enjoyed a local
cave after returning. I gave up on an ascent of Harter Fell and settled
for a short tour of antiquities. After tea we enjoyed a variety of
games. Looks like Sunday was a touristy day from the FB piccies
posted....

After a long drive with some slightly unnecessary driving
north by me we arrived at the car park not too long after Iain, piled extra
stuff and passenger into his car before getting on our bikes for a long cycle
in the dark.100m later we found Bruce
and co sat in front of a locked gate with the key not working.Our key didn’t work either so after an extra
hour or so of faffing people resolved to walk in leaving 2 behind to put a tent
up in car park and Bruce to sleep in his car.For those of us with bikes it was a shortish rather over burdened cycle
in before we discovered that thankfully the key for the hut did work and set about
turning things on for the others.Eventually around 2am more people arrived and after warming ourselves on
fire and setting up kit to dry went to bed.

Not so happy times at the locked gate

No one rose early the next morning and there was some
indecision on what to do but Berenice’s Munros were not going to climb
themselves so she was first to leave heading to Beinn Fhionnlaidh with 3 others
in tow (and two other Munros to reclimb to get there).Me and Amy headed up the other side of the
valley over a Corbett to Sgurr nan Conbhairean and Sail Chaorainn.Others decided to cycle around the glen and
Iain being the hero decided to cycle back to the car to pick up the food he had
pre-prepared (thus saving everyone the horrors of my vegetarian cooking). A good day was had by most with the winds and
showers proving less fearsome than forecast giving good views for all.

Returning to the hut after a long day on the hill we found
everyone had finally made it in to the hut and some of those that hadn’t made
it last night were still on the hill.We
soon had food prepared and saw some of the amazing things people had carried in
on their backs (including a large quantity of hummus).Realising
any food not eaten would have to be carried out again meant people made a good
effort on the rather large amount of rice that had been cooked.

Alright for some

The Sunday saw people rising early eager to both get up a
hill walk out and get back to Dundee at a reasonable hour.This day saw four different parties head up
to the hill with some encountering snow and mist.Me, Amy and Dave avoided both by climbing the
smaller hill of An Socach.After a final
clean and some tea drinking faff everyone set off back to the cars and got to
see what the track looked like in the light.

All in all a good meet despite the set-backs with some resolving
to bring bolt cutters or sledge hammers on all future meets. No one driving back to Dundee in a huff on
Friday night when gate didn’t open = success.

Arrived by cycle Claonaig early morning via Comrie, Dalmallay and Kilmartin,Sail to Lochranza, Disco Slippers (cycling shoes) but no dancing shoes for Ceilidh,Slept day, slept night, but still time for 5 meals

Friday

Rode long way round to Brodick by Pirnmill, Thundergay, Lagg, KildonnanNice day, Spotted hub caps in trees!Wooden hut in castle grounds, very nice, but flawed, nit-pickers delight!Paw Patrol cake, whisky too, tall tales of age!Time for Birthday boy’s teaPub closed! Long walk for tea.Nice burgers, chips not to Pete’s delight.Fumble home in the dark.

Still cloudy, can’t be botheredHoly island sailing sought, tempting…Spirits lifted, off to the boat.Little tub to Buddhist IslandCaves and paintings, horses and light housesKatrina offending Goats!Group split, off into the mist Katrina and Chimed go.The rest stay on the shoreTea and biscuits, before the boatWell behaved, Swift half in the pub (Jim’s gone home).Pasta baked, nae cheese corner for Niall.

Monday

Home time looms, on the bikeDull and boring Ayrshire routeLost in Ardrossan… Shudder.Across the clagged in muirs I rodeAs Rain comes down, and Kelty loomsWhile on the islandGoatfell’s scaled and South Ridge Direct Conquered !In glorious sunshine, a tall tale?Sadly not!

Collecting Ben Lawers by itself is tricky unless you use the less used
East ridge. After a bit of a faff morning and A9 delays we finally left
the Lawers Hotel at 13.00. A pleasant path through woodland follows the
Lawers Burn and gets out onto the moorland. We missed where the path
crossed the burn but easily compensated and took the eastern slopes of
Ben Lawers. This offered mixed terrain but a slow but steady ascent to
the highest point in Tayside in just over 3 hours enjoying 360 views.
Pushed for time we descended the same way in a couple of hours to enjoy a
haddock supper back at the hotel.

We made the journey up to Dundonnell on Friday evening after work –
excited with anticipation for our first meet with DMC. We arrived to the
hostel and were warmly greeted by the friendly bunch. A glass of whisky
(Highland Park) was pushed in front of us making us feel immediately
welcome and part of the gang.

With high winds forecast our initial
plan for the An Teallach traverse were put on hold and a large group
ramble up some of the central Fannichs was instigated, with only two of
the bravest soldiers ( Joe and Phelim) risking the winds on the traverse
the next day.

Saturday arrived and a relaxed morning saw us
donning our waterproofs and gaiters around 9.20am to ascend our first
munros. Our equally relaxed approach to navigation saw us crossing the
path of a river requiring a particular level in acrobatics to cross with
dry feet ( I am sure Berenice will testify to that.) After this Miguel
stamped an early claim as the weekends resident speed champion, whilst
others (Iain) veered off with masochistic tendency to grab all the
nearby Corbett’s, Corbett top, munro tops and so on. With everyone
reconvened at the summit of Sgurr Nan Each lunch was had with percy pigs
and Kendal mint cake flowing all around.

We set off to bag the
our other summits of the day, and was off the mountain by 17.00 to allow
Bruce time to prepare his Sainsbury’s sponsored stew ( other grocers
available) which was well received by all. The night rolled on and our
attempts at a sing along, quickly made us realise why it was Paul Simon
that was earning the big buck and not us.

With the forecast
looking good for Sunday – An Teallach was now back on, and it turned out
to be an absolute cracker of a day. With sun cream applied we were
ready for a great day on the hills. With all the pinnacles climbed and
everyone still alive we descended to reach the Dundonnell hotel for a
celebratory beverage.

We met with Simon and Phelim who had been
in search of climbing near anthrax island (Gruinard island). With their
symptoms checked over and cleared from contamination Phelim was eager to
get home. They set off with petrol light flashing and 50 miles to the
nearest petrol station… Actually has anyone heard from him since…?

Anyway,
with the summer of high pressures evidently starting to dwindle and the
autumnal weather we know and love trying to poke its way back into
August it can’t stop the Dundee mountain club from continuing to explore
the majestic mountains of Scotland and beyond.

Thanks everyone for a great weekend and I hope to see you soon for more action on the hills.

The Sidlaws Skyline, a route name which brings to mind the Glencoe
Skyline, a serious challenge! Yet this was also a chance to explore the
oft-neglected hills in our back yard. It was a long time in the
planning, and the run-up to it was an equally long time without rain.
But the day before we saw a forecast for 30mm of rain - a whole weekend
of heavy rain right across the UK. The famous DMC optimism won again and
we met at Katrina's for croissant sustenance. Complex logistics sorted,
we met at the start with bikes and running shoes ready. In no time at
all we were on the first summit, Dunsinane Hill. Yay, 10% of the ten
summits complete! There was a bit of mist, but this was going to be
easy. The hard bit arrived swiftly with an ascent into thick fog,
challenging navigation, pathless terrain and thick heather to negotiate.
The bikers were going to find this difficult. The runners pressed on
using map and compass until finally the cloud lifted near Gaskhill. The
going was much easier round Ballo and on a path to Laird's Loch. At that
point the wind picked up and the rain started but fortunately it
stopped after a few minutes so I didn't need to put my jacket on.
Fantastic views for the high section across Lundie to Newtyle and a
pleasant descent into the village. Good timing, a quick burst of heavy
rain coincided exactly with toilet stop. A few minutes later we ran up
the lovely wee den to Kinpurney where we were joined by Simon O for the
run to Auchterhouse hill. Finally we felt as though we were going to
succeed. The sunshine and the views were splendid. Great running tracks
to Craigowl then another heather hop to Gallow hill, our tenth and final
top. Down to the car for tea and medals :-)

Blackrock Cottage is probably one of the most famous buildings in
Scotland so we felt privileged to be able to stay. Being first to arrive
at the cottage, but not having the key, we resorted to the fun game of
guessing which passing car belonged to Bruce! Finally we entered and
discovered that the interior still holds its charm yet the bathroom
facilities have been upgraded to Spa standard. We spent a cozy evening
scaring ourselves silly with talk of the Aonach Eagach ridge scramble.

The next morning a bit of valley fog didn't cloud our optimism so we
headed to the Devil's Staircase to make an extended walk out of the long
summer daylight. Climbing out of the fog got us excited for the day
ahead. The first challenge was the Chancellor, a down-climb requiring
those of a nervous disposition to face the rock and pretend there's no
exposure. Jeannie helped wonderfully and encouraged us saying it's the
hardest part of the route. I'm not sure that's entirely true. We spent
the rest of the day navigating all sorts of up-climbs, down-climbs,
round-climbs, over-climbs, scary bits, exhilarating bits, downright
crazy bits and magnificently 'airy' bits. Fortunately for some, the
swirling mist sometimes hid the sheer drops right down to valley bottom.
The Munro summits may have been new ticks for some but they were
definitely not the highlights of the day.

Back in the cottage afterwards
we tucked into Berenice's wonderful Picos-de-Europa-inspired mountain
stew (recipe to follow!). Barry and Bob spent the day in the Mamores and
by chance met the same 78-year old they'd met in Glen Etive the
previous day. Did they meet him again on Sunday? Tune in later to find
out! Several people enjoyed a Sunday amble up Buachaille Etive Beag,
others enjoyed the downhill mountain biking competition taking place in
Glencoe.

Landing at the end of a two week holiday with temperatures rarely dipping below 20C the Rum meet saw me not quite manage what I'd hoped to; ok not manage what I had hoped to at all.

Meeting Simon in Galmisdale, Eigg on the Tuesday I received reports of there having been rain; something I hadn't seen in a few weeks at this point, a passing shower had disturbed his bivvy on the dramatic An Sgurr summit of the island, while I slept soundly in the awesome bunkhouse; we met up with others as they arrived in Mallaig that evening before getting up at a sensible time for the 1015 sailing to Rum.

Others arrived at the pier in good time as a huge queue of people had us worried that Jim wouldn't get on board as he hadn't yet appeared.

With seconds to spare [Jim protests: around 300 to spare] Jim was seen running along Mallaig's steamer pier with a crate of beer, nothing quite like risking missing the boat for the essentials!

With 10 minutes to timetabled departure and check in closed, the ramp of MV Loch Nevis lifted from the linkspan and we were on our way to Rum.

A gentle sailing took us directly to Loch Scresort where a midge infested walk through the trees took us to the bunkhouse; well most of us walked, while the food and chefs made use of the Stretched Golf Cart taxi. Sitting down to relax in the sun a fairly competitive game of Pentaque kicked off between Katrina and Jim before a group of us went to take in the tour of Kinloch castle.

If you are on Rum do the castle tour before SNH hand it over to the "Friends" group, there will never be another tour guide quite like Ross fae Cumbernauld who told us about the house, the Bulloughs and their reported antics in his unique style.

After the best Curry ever served on a DMC meet I shot off to visit Harris and Kilmory by bike in the late evening as I hoped to get a decent hike in the following morning; on returning from the cycle about 11pm I was informed I had missed the party as someone preparing breakfast for an early start on the ride had set the fire alarm off getting everyone else out of bed in the process as he and Jed (the hostel manager) hurriedly read the manual for the fire alarm.

Last to bed not long after Jim I struggled to wake early as Allan's alarm went off and realized summiting the island or doing the ridge with the others wasn't going to happen, so I went back to sleep. Waking much later it was scorching so I set off for Coire Dubh for lunch with a view and to see if there was any chance of making it up Askival; after all but finishing my water on the way there I realized there was no chance I was going further and retreated to the bunkhouse.

Others started to arrive and Katrina started sending updates on their location when she had a signal; at this point I decided i needed a post tea lunch and headed up the path towards Dibidil to meet them.Another 11pm finish!

The following day everyone else had tentative ideas of doing something easy, so I set off on my own for the summit of Mullach Mor, although I intended going via Rubh na Roinne then take the nose up to Meal a' Goireteam I discovered the path didn't continue along the shore so changed plan and took route one straight up, discovering in the process what must have been the only knee deep patch of bog left on the island!

Bone dry blanket bog further up made what should have been a horrible wet hike a nice springy bounce along between the lochs; with no sign of a boat house to investigate at "Boathouse Loch" next to the summit I descended down to the boggy and little used path that runs through Kinloch Glen and returned to the Bunkhouse

Activity of other members was higher than expected with a surprisingly energetic group walking to Harris and then over Orval while others Climbed on rocks around Kilmory.

A fantastic chilli sorted out the rumbling stomachs and we discussed plans for the following day, with two boats off the islands on a Saturday some chose to take the tour of the small isles in the morning to see Eigg, Canna and Muck from the ferry, while Simon, Jeannie, Chimed and I eventually chose to stop off at Canna and Sanday, the others set off with some of Iain's climbing mates who were met by chance on the ferry while I set off to visit as much of Canna and Sanday as I could before heading for the Canna summit of Carn A Ghaill.

The Saturday turned out to be Columba's day, and Canna was apparently Columba's summer island, so the island and ferry was rather busy! Certainly the number of visitors far exceeded the normal population of 20!

We eventually regrouped at Café Canna for cake and drinks and a few drops of rain fell, before long we were setting sail for Mallaig and settling down with Calmac Burger and Chips as Lochnevis cut her way through the calm seas.

- Niall

A lyrical report

In a moment of (inspiration?) i was going to re-write the lyrics to 'We didn't start the fire' by Billy Joel (those on the trip or having read the meets book will appreciate), however i thought I might try some Haiku instead of a long report, so here goes:-

For me and Amy the weekend started on Wednesday with a late night car parking. Early Thursday morning we set off for a 5 day ‘weekend’. Under two months left for Amy to finish her Munros meant no time to waste. The day started in earnest eating lunch in a car park in Glen Carron before cycling up a track in brilliant sunshine with rather heavy bags containing everything we needed for next two days. Dumping bikes and overnight kit at Pollan Bhuide we set off to climb Sgurr Choinnich and Sgurr Chaorachain. After two fine hills and a fantastic day of sun and views, and some questionable descent decisions we were soon pitching the tent for the night.

Sadly overnight the weather didn’t hold and we awoke on Friday to a view of cloud covered tops and a few showers. Being there to climb hills we didn’t hang around too much and still set off aiming for Bidein a’Choir Sheasgain and Lurg Mhor. To get there we first needed to re climb the pass we had done the previous day and traverse over Beinn Tharsuin to reach the foot of the ridge. Sadly the cloud on the hills didn’t lift after cloud and snow combined to give some tricky navigation on Beinn Tharsuin so when we reached the summit the cloud and rain were enough to persuade us to call it a day and leave the two munros for a nicer day. After descending out the cloud we stopped for a late lunch then retrieved our bike for a steep cycle down to the car and short drive to the hut.

A shorter day than planned meant that we arrived well in advance of others even after multiple trips to hut to ferry in group food for the weekend, a slight issue as the later parties were those bringing the fuel for fire. Soon enough the others started arriving and soon we had a full hut with a nice fire going.

Saturday saw Andrew Brook’s last munro so everyone headed to the same hill. Sadly he had left Maolie Lunndaidh till last and a long walk in awaited for those without bikes (Andrew and Berenice naturally had bikes). The prospect of a long walk out on a track made it relatively easy to persuade people that a far better return route was over the two munros me and Amy had climbed on Thursday. Thankfully the cloud of Friday dispersed in the morning sun and it was another fantastic weather day. After a brief lie in for me and Amy we soon overtook the walkers on the path (cycling was much easier with only day bags) and met fellow cyclist Greg for a spot of sunbathing at agreed meet up point. As the group arrived various faff occurred and a proposal to further lengthen the day by including Corbett top Creag Dhudh Mhor was adopted.

The first task however was to cross a few streams and the group was soon spread out across the hillside with different routes and stream crossing techniques were employed. This resulted in me, Amy and Andrew H being separated from the others by a ravine and missing the decision to abandon the Corbett top which looked temptingly close above us. As ever a succession of false tops revealed a rather large distance to the top and gave the rest a rather large head start in reaching the munro summit. Thankfully the increased speed due to reduced faff meant that the party was still on the summit when we arrive and there was still cake and champagne left to celebrate with. It being quite late in the day we had assumed the others might abandon their further two peaks but DMCers are not easily deterred and most of the party set off at a fast march to head back the hard way. The five cyclists were joined by two others for a leisurely descent to the bikes interspersed with more stream crossing fun. On bikes me and Amy made quick work of the journey back to the car and were back in the hut and able to go for a quick dip in the stream before it got to cold and dark.

We decided not to wait for the others before eating so were soon just tucking into our tea in time for the first long party to arrive back asking if the others were back yet having split on the hill and assumed the slower party would abandon their attempt on the final two summits. They had not however and finally returned to the hut around 11pm tired, hungry and slightly foot sore. Some of them even decided to blame me for persuading them to climb the extra peaks (although they loved it really).

Sunday awoke for many tired walkers and brilliant sunshine providing no excuses for people to not head up to the hills again. The group split to do many different things, me, Amy, Berenice and Andrew B went up Beinn Liath Mhor proving completion doesn’t stop some people from heading out to hill again. We split on the summit and me and Amy continued to Sgorr Ruadh a great place for a late afternoon sunbathe before returning to the now empty hut for a night there alone.

Sadly the forecast for Monday was not fantastic and combined with worries about lingering snow we decided to save the planned route on Liathach for another day instead going for a run exploring the Coulin pass and an early drive home to get to Dundee in time for tea. The end of a rather tiring but enjoyable five days on the hills with DMC (for part at least).

- Dominic

Sunday

After Saturday’s exertions on Maoile Lunndaidh including a suitably late return by the “let’s do the two other Munro’s, it doesn’t get dark until late...” groups, Iain, Barry, Allan and Fiona embarked on an ascent of Fuar Tholl on Sunday with an eye on the South-East ridge. Another great day, and a fantastic ‘big-little’ hill with some interesting route (path?) finding, easy scrambling, narrow ridge with enough snow to keep things interesting, great scenery and views. One was enough however, a complete round of Coire Lair awaits....

The yearly DMC Skye trip had had utterly glorious weather for the past few years, and we were keenly aware that this good fortune couldn't last... With reports of snow still on the Cuillin, we miserably packed our crampons and set off.

Incredibly, however, we struck lucky again and enjoyed blissfully sunny weather all weekend - with panoramic views out to Rum and back to the mainland.

On Saturday, Mhairi had asked mountain expert, Jim, to lead her up the mighty In Pinn, and a few of us decided to take advantage of his expertise and tag along. Villo, Bruce, Tommy, Mhairi, Jim and I headed up Sgurr Dearg and were surprised when we reached the summit after only a short scramble. Well, not quite the summit...

Before us sat a sharp and unforgiving shaft of rock, sticking ungainly out of the mountain, like a giant, forgotten axe head, dropped in a ferocious battle of the Gods. I've been reading a lot of Greek mythology recently.

Anyway, Jim roped up and soloed the narrow east ridge. Mhairi clipped in and followed him - a moderate climb made worse by the sheer drops on either side.

By this time the summit was getting busy. Climbers appeared from all different directions, all hoping to take on the In Pinn, and Jim made the sensible decision to have the rest of us climb up the western side, avoiding the other pesky climbers spoiling our view. This is graded as a VDiff, and we could see why. Bruce and myself (with limited climbing experience) found it particularly challenging, but we made it up and down in one piece, with only the odd "disco leg" and frozen moment of panic. Villo and Tommy scaled it in no time, and all five of us took a brief moment in the sunshine to congratulate ourselves on a climb well done. It was a great group effort, too, as we all shouted encouragement, and guided for footholds from the ground. It was terrifying at the time, but the feeling of accomplishment afterwards was incredible.

Since we were on the ridge, it seemed rude not to bag another couple Munros, so we set off for Sgurr Mhic Coinnich and Sgurr Alasdair. On the way we bumped into the second DMC ridge party, who were doing our route in reverse.After a 13-hour day on the Cuillin, and a horrendous descent of the Stone Chute (I bloomin' HATE s cree) w e returned back to the lodge to enjoy a delicious three-courser, cooked perfectly by Bruce S and served with flair by Andrew H.I could barely keep my eyes open for the usual chatter at night round the fire, and retired early.

I awoke in utter confusion to find I'd slept through the entire summer and an earthquake was shaking my bunk - but it turned out to be Paul and Andrew H, who had given up waiting and were merrily shaking the bunk, singing Happy Birthday to wake me. Apologies, guys!

I dropped them off at another ridge walk and went to Carbost for oysters and a nosey at Talisker distillery. Ice cream in Kyle of Lochalsh on the way home was a glorious end to a perfect weekend. Long my our Skye luck last!

- Katrina

The Cioch, Clach Glas and Blaven

Somewhat improbably the rain cleared as we drove through Glen Shiel on Friday eve with the prospect of a clear Cuillin (a rare event when arriving on Skye). No room at the Inn (or Cafe Sia anyway) meant we settled for bar food at Sligachan, to chew over myriad ideas for Sat. I think everyone comes to Skye with an agenda worked out far in advance only to be trashed by the weather when they arrive, or with unbounded enthusiasm end up in thick mist trying to work out if they are in the right Coire.... This time it would be different?

Omens were mixed first thing Saturday, even to the suggestion it might be a Neist Point (cragging) day. Convinced Sron na Ciche would dry-out however we pressed on for a look. Now it is easy to forget this faces North and can be cold and damp for a couple of days after rain (funny how old memories are of warm rock, blithely navigating the terrace and Cioch Slab, enjoying the fine exposure and limitless gabbro friction..) Today it felt steep, damp and a bit foreboding - at least until up the corner and out into the sun atop the Cioch. We dropped the original harder climbing options and pushed on up Eastern Gully via the slimy squeeze under the big chockstone, to enjoy a few hours on Sg Sgumain in the afternoon sun.

Still some juice left in the tank Sunday and we headed for Clach Glas and Blaven (Simon's "favourite scramble", and for me this would be the 3rd? time, and well over 20 years since i last did it??). Sg nan Each kicks things off with a bang, a steep slab and big exposure, and the fun (= sustained, exposed, scrambling / climbing up to Difficult...) continues with a spectacular finish to the table-top summit of Clach Glas.

It's a convoluted descent down to the putting green - a 20m long patch of grass improbably perched on the next col, back into the shade for the challenge of the (damp) 12 foot wall (about 4m these days..), followed by a scree filled gully and steep 25m corner to finish. The only disappointing fact is rather than emerge right onto the summit of Blaven, you are left with a 100m slog to get to what today, was one of the best viewpoints on the planet. We even managed to get a Pizza at Cafe Sia before heading home. If the DMC gets this weather every year, sign me up for 2019!

- Iain

Corrie Lagan and more Munro bagging

With Amy’s finishing of the Munro’s fast approaching the one remaining goal on Skye was to see if she could climb the In Pinn without a guide (the summit had been bagged by Amy years ago with a guide). I on the other hand had lots of unclimbed peaks on the Cuillin so a round of Corrie Lagan seemed an appropriate route choice.

Andy M, Andrew B, Miguel and Berenice had a variety of coinciding ambitions so the six of us set off together. First thing cloud was still lingering meaning there was a brief discussion about skipping our first goal Sgurr Sgumain and heading up the great stone shoot to Sgurr Alaisdair. Luckily optimism about the forecast prevailed and we headed up the much nicer Sgumain stone shoot reaching the ridge in time for sun to break through the clouds.

Sgurr Sgumain provided no difficulties and the party split in deciding the best route on the next section on the ridge. Regrouping at the bottom of the bad step on Sgurr Alaisdair and the slightly scary described grade 3 chimney to get up. Harnesses were donned in case anyone felt need to rope part way up but as promised the route was easier than looked and soon we were all enjoying brilliant sunshine on the summit of Sgurr Alaisdair.

After a brief lunch stop we pushed on looking at the fearsome looking cliffs of Sgurr Thearlaich luckily my reading of the walk book was wrong and there was a much easier route just round the corner. There was no resting on this summit as memories of conversations of the difficulties of getting off this from the night before were fresh in the mind. We opted to head off to the right of the ridge and after a couple of steps of downclimbing which seemed to take an age we were soon scrambling up onto Collie’s Ledge thankfully not meriting the Mod status the guidebook had given it. This took us back onto the ridge just past Sgurr MhicChoinnich which we naturally back tracked to the summit finishing the Skye Munros for Berenice.

We had been keeping an eye out for groups of orange helmeted climbers coming the other way and on return to end of Collie's Ledge did indeed meet our other party who had headed to the In Pinn as first target of the day.

Carrying on we by passed An Stac to Miguel’s disappointment and soon reached the foot of the In Pinn. Andy M and Berenice decided they had had a good day and were happy just going to the summit of Sgurr Dearg but the rest of us decided to make an attempt on the In Pinn. Miguel was unconvinced by my short roping place so decided to solo it with the rest of us following behind with the rope to get off. We set off behind him but soon came into difficulties, I having underestimated the difficulty of the climb (and probably how much I rely on having my sister on the other end of the rope when scrambling in the Alps).

We retreated and pondered how best to get Miguel off the summit safely. I decided to make a second attempt on the summit but climbing trad style instead. I managed to get slightly higher but still got scared by the exposure and difficulty of the route and turned back a second time leaving Miguel having to downclimb the route to get to safety.

We then proceeded to the summit of Sgurr Dearg and getting a good view of the route that would have been useful earlier. The descent was longer than expected and we caught the other group just as we were reaching the car park heading back to the hostel after a good day on the hill.

Sunday saw a variety of different plans. Me and Amy had a relaxing day on the ridge climbing Sgurr a Mhaidaidh and Sgurr a Ghreadaidh from An Dorus. We bumped into another party (who had been climbing on Clach Glas) in the Pizza place in Broadford. Our weekend continued with a drive to Attadale and a hard sunset cycle into Bendrondaig both where Greg was also staying, having been up Beinn Drondaig that evening. We had an early start on Monday, climbing Biden a’Choire Sheasgaich and Lurg Mhor (a weekend with no new Munros for Amy was asking a bit too much at this point) before cycling back over the pass (the steep sections we had pushed up the day before were also too steep to cycle down) and driving back to Dundee. Another good and tiring weekend with DMC.

- Dom

A Sunday Scramble

After the Sunday lie in, packing faff and lengthy indecision about plans B-Z we opted for plan A and drove over to Glen Brittle, our objective the Spur on Sgurr an Fheadain, a 2* grade 2 scramble up the ridge to the left of Waterpipe Gulley. From the road it looked imposing and TBH I was a wee bit apprehensive. Katrina decided to give it a miss to pursue much needed caffeine, oysters and whisky; promising to pick us up later.

The sign after the Fairy Pools told us we were entering "wild mountainous terrain" and 500m further on we were standing at the bottom of the slabs at the foot of the left flank of the buttress, donning helmets and harnesses, contemplating the climb. ...which turned out to be a lot less steep than it looked, resulting in enjoyable scrambling and some great positions. The bulging slabs shallowed out to the point where one could walk up relying on friction to gain a broad scree terrace which we traversed right to broken crags guarding the ridge proper. What looked like almost vertical continuous rock from the road was only 50 degrees with a rocky path between steeper rock steps. As we ascended, the gash of the Waterpipe made its presence felt to our right until a final sustained scramble took us to the small bealach between the two pinnacles at the top of the gulley. The rope had stayed in the bag but I was glad to have had it.

The summit - and lunch - lay a short narrow ridge walk beyond. The guide book advised us to back track and then cut back to the main ridge bealach rather than go direct to avoid the fatal drop - the summit of Sgurr an Fheadain an impressive cone of rock atop the end of the ridge down from Bidein Druim nan Ramh, overhanging Coire na Creiche.

The descent from there looked treacherous: steep hanging scree whichever way you went. We opted for the slightly harder descent down into Coire a' Mhadaidh, which after 100m turned out to be quite pleasant, there were breaks in the crags and the scree was of small stones providing us with an escalator down to the Coire floor, the imposing rock architecture looming around us. Then another suprise: The route out of the coire seemed blocked by a gorge and cliffs, but at the last minute a small cairn led us to what felt like a secret staircase down a rake in the rock, depositing us at the foot of the buttress to admire the route.

Then a purposeful yomp down to (and a jump over) the Fairy Pools. ...which looked enticing after the sweat of the climb but we decided skinny dipping was probably not the best plan for a number of reasons, one of which led to a discussion about wetsuits which lasted until we caught sight of Katrina waving us a welcome. 3h45' (car) door to door. A grand (half) day out of four-limb movement on sticky rock. Only took a week for my fingerprints to re-grow sufficiently to unlock my phone.

- Andrew

Pinnacle ridge

We were walking at 8.Geared up behind two others at bottom of face and waited for them several times on the route but enjoyed the relaxed pace and brilliant views.Straight forward scrambling with minimal need for route finding description.Fantastic outlook and wonderful exposure in placesBlazing sunshine, shades on.Interesting abseil entry line onto broad ledge and gully.Rope stashed again... nice to have though!!?No snow to speak ofEdgy traverse up ramp over gapsSummit lunch stop - only I had forgotten mine!On to the crux - straight forward move to get of the ground but a little delicacy required to mount the rock - moment of concentration required.Summit foundJob done.Brilliant route, highly enjoyable.Would recommend.Descent along ridge heading eastFoot pain slowed progress but it was lovely weather so we stopped in the sun and to paddle in the burn on the way back.Arrived at the pub about 6.Another great day on Skye.

7.30 arrived but no sign of Malcolm and only 4 players - what to
do?. I was confident he'd show so we went for 2 teams - Iain, David and
myself in one and Jim by himself. 7.31 Malcolm arrives and David joins
Jim. 3 rounds of 35 questions from a slide presentations. We obtained
the highest scores in rounds one and two opening up a 4 point lead. In
the last round we were bamboozled with birds and flowers (not our strong
point) but ended up the victors by a single point! Meanwhile Jim and
David were trying hard for "the boot" but were clearly answering too
many questions correctly in the last round!

The
prize is the Ice Axe which DMC won for the first time 2 years ago when
Perth MC were hosting. They won last year and are our main rivals. We
are hosting next year so we do battle again in 2 years and be prepared
with night classes in ornithology and botany! We were proud to walk down
into town and join DMC members in the Bank Bar as it was club night.

Please send any photos with your question to me via our Google group for the 2019 Quiz.

Winter is still there on the hills of Scotland so Iain and I decided to
head into Cairngorm's Northern Corries to see what we could do. I
fancied something easy and Iain said there was a nice grade II called
Red Gully to try. It turns out 'nice' means 'harder than grade II' but
with a bit of fortitude and an astonishing amount of ice screws I
managed to get up the steep first ice pitch. Thereafter we swapped leads
and made it to the top without any real problems. Weather was fine if a
bit breezy with more snow showers than expected. With another cold snap
forecast this week it could be a while yet before the ice tools are put
away for the summer.